How do you get Vichy Franze into the Axis?

[Hierophant]

Now I know that Vichy was for all purposes a vassal state of Nazi Germany, but how do you get them as full-fledged allies? Could Operation Catapult (the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir) gone horribly wrong for the British, to the point the French were actively in a state of war with the UK?

I misspelled France.

 

[burning down one side]

A plot concocted and carried out by Germany could perhaps have pulled Vichy into the war on the Axis side. For example, Germany could have gathered up a few thousand eastern Europeans, slapped British uniforms on them and piled them into amphibious landing crafts destined for a Vichy city just off the English Channel. The German airforce could then blow them out of the water as they were heading south in the channel and claim to have stopped a British raid. Not too feasible really.

 

[Albidoom]

Weaken the Free French Forces. Maybe DeGaulle gets killed somehow. Reduce the size of the german occupied part of France, especially Paris unoccupied would have given Vichy France a great morale boost (although then it wouldn't have been called Vichy France in that case )
And Germany shouldn't have re-annexed Alsace-Lorraine, which in OTL pissed of quite some vichy officials.

 

[mattw101]

but how do you get them as full-fledged allies? Could Operation Catapult (the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir) gone horribly wrong for the British?

How do you mean wrong? I imagine the only way that Mers-el-Kebir could be any worse is if the British manage to do better - ie. destroy a couple more battleships and kill more Frenchmen. That could affect French public opinion even more than OTL.

IIRC some high-ranking French officers wanted to bomb Gibraltar in retaliation. If that happens I'm guessing a state of war will occur.

Another thing might be to have a less successful leader of the Free French.

 

[yourworstnightmare]

I guess if Britain sue for peace and Vichy get back occupied territory from the Germans.

 

[Chilperic]

IIRC some high-ranking French officers wanted to bomb Gibraltar in retaliation.

That actually happened; only problem is that instead of dropping their bombs on the targets, many pilots simply dropped them into the sea and flew home... Something worse than Mers el-Kebir will be needed to send vichy into the Axis.